Born In Ashes: The Enigma - Chapter 3: Found You

“Can you be useful to me?”

“I… I can be…”

The first time they met, she knelt trembling before him, begging for shelter. The slave caught his interest, and he brought her back to his palace.

She could’ve never imagined that in one night she’d go from a spoiled little slave princess of a defeated kingdom, to becoming a powerful prince’s pet.

He kept her by his side… spoiled her, cared for her, loved her, and gave her meticulous care and high status. Whatever she wished… she could do so under his name.

But, she angered him and chose to run away. He captured her within a day.

“Don’t forget, my little dearest, everything I have given you can be taken back…”

In a spur of anger, she hit him, her feeble hands striking against the flesh of his cheek. Gnashing her teeth in anger, she said, “Do you have the ability to take my child back?!”

- Description from Novelupdates

In the heart of the Azure Continent lies a legendary establishment known as Origin Mall.This extraordinary store offers goods beyond imagination: a sip of its cola can instantly replenish one's vitality; its spicy snacks grant the strength to overcome powerful foes; the games it offers can accelerate cultivation progress; and its novels impart profound techniques and insights.Origin Mall boasts a vast array of offerings, catering to leisure, entertainment, dining, and training needs alike.However, there’s one rule that all visitors must remember: never cause trouble in the store. The owner, though unassuming, is unimaginably powerful.

The day I saw Caleb’s interview on the ‘Celebrity Hot Gist’ talk show, our five-year relationship came to a humiliating end.***Hi, my name is Naya Rivers.Struggling actress. Betrayed fiancée and recently turned amateur assassin to save my dying mother.Now I’m posing as a replacement actress, sent to ruin the cold, ruthless Apex Entertainment President, Hansel Ward.Instead, I ruined myself and collapsed in his arms, only to wake up three days later as a prisoner in his penthouse.Turns out Hansel Ward isn’t just a billionaire. He’s a werewolf with a monster buried deep inside him.Now I'm trapped in his world—a hidden society of werewolf dynasties, vampire enemies, and ancient bloodlines. I'm bait in his game to smoke out whoever's trying to kill him.But here's what nobody knows: I'm immune to werewolf mind control. I'm the weapon vampires have been hunting for centuries. I'm the one thing that can destroy the most powerful werewolf dynasty in existence.Hansel Ward thought he was using me, joke’s on him, I’m the most dangerous thing that’s ever walked into his life.And this fake relationship? It's about to become the most real thing either of us has ever known.This is my story.My downfall.And now, my rise.It is now my turn to take revenge, and I won’t stop until I put everyone who has ever hurt me in the misery I am currently wallowing in.So yeah…Good luck to me.

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future—until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, Leon wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere—one that he will grab for sure.But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, Leon decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his old life, modern problem-solving, and an irreverent attitude, he plans to revolutionize his territory. But in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches...Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC. - The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all. - My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.